Draft picks Daniels, Wright join Miami fold just in time

NFL - The Beat

July 23, 2005

Miami Dolphins draft picks Travis Daniels and Manuel Wright signed four-year contracts and will be in training camp for the start of practice Monday, the team said Friday.

Daniels, a cornerback and fourth-round pick who played for new Miami Coach Nick Saban at LSU, received a $458,000 signing bonus. His deal includes a potential $1.4 million incentive bonus in the final year.

Wright, a defensive tackle from Southern Cal, was taken in the fifth round of the supplemental draft.

According to a source, OL Anthony Alabi of TCU, a fifth-round pick, signed a four-year deal worth $1.1 million.

Also Friday, DE David Bowens signed a one-year extension through 2006. Bowens started 15 games last year and totaled 52 tackles and seven sacks, both career highs.

Lions' Kircus fined for drunk driving

Detroit Lions WR David Kircus has been ordered to pay $850 in fines and court costs for driving drunk.

Hudsonville (Mich.) District Judge Kenneth D. Post also sentenced Kircus to one day of jail, with credit for one day served at the time of his arrest. He pleaded guilty July 6 to a misdemeanor count of operating under the influence of alcohol. He was arrested on June 25.

Former UCF star Burley joins Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings signed WR Siaha Burley and RB Adimchinobe Echemandu. Burley was a favorite target of QB Daunte Culpepper in college, when they were teammates at UCF.

Burley has spent the past five seasons in the Arena Football League, earning Player of the Year honors for 2005.

Echemandu, drafted in the seventh round by Cleveland last year, appeared in three games with the Browns.

Patriots make room for Hobbs

The New England Patriots signed third-round draft pick Ellis Hobbs of Iowa State. Hobbs, a cornerback and kick returner, was the 84th overall pick. To make room on the roster, the Patriots released RB DeCori Birmingham, who was signed as an undrafted free agent out of Arkansas on April 29.

TE Jerome Collins, the St. Louis Rams' fifth-round pick out of Notre Dame, signed a three-year contract. . . . The Green Bay Packers signed WR Craig Bragg, a sixth-round pick from UCLA. . . . Brigham Young DE Shaun Nua, a seventh-round pick, signed a multiyear contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers. . . . The New York Jets signed seventh-round pick Harry Williams Jr., a wide receiver from Tuskegee. . . . Darren Sproles, a fourth-round pick from Kansas State, agreed to a four-year contract with the San Diego Chargers.